October 25

Sally's Day

Most of my day was devoted to the Metropolitan Opera.  The Opera offers $20  rush seats which are sold 2 hours before the performance.  However, it is necessary to get in line by 2:30 because there are only 150 tickets sold.  So it is day of getting a good sandwich at the deli, knitting and reading.

Tonight's opera was Carmen.  I have, rather cynically, come to believe that most operas have a plot of love, jealously, death.  Carmen was no exception.  A nobleman loves Carmen.  She loves a gypsy.  Neither she nor the nobleman know that the gypsy is actually the nobleman's brother.  Carmen agrees to marry the nobleman if he will spare the life of the gypsy.  She then takes a poison which results in a  slow death (comment- deaths in operas always seem to be slow to allow time for an aria and/or duet before the actual death).  The nobleman has also captured the woman who has raised the gypsy.  Just before killing her, she reveals that the nobleman and he are brothers.  In the end, everyone is either dead or miserable.

A friend went  with me.  A violinist in the orchestra is a friend of his.  She took us to the bowels of Opera Hall.  There is a cafeteria right next to the orchestra pit.  During the intermission, we sat amongst soldiers and gypsies having a snack between acts.  Fun.

I love the Metropolitan Opera House.  It is a  magical place to come upon the lights, chandeliers, and happy people.

Met staff cafeteria,

I have seen these dog buggies on the  street.  Here is one in a store window.  I don't know why people take their dog out in a buggy, rather than letting the dog walk.

By Al 

While Sally was at the Opera, I went for a walk around the Upper East Side looking at Halloween decorations.  Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and Amy and I always enjoyed decorating our house.  I, obviously, could not do that this year, so it was fun to see what New Yorkers had done.  Most houses didn't have much room, so the displays tended to be a bit crowded.  Also, keep in mind that the houses that show these displays are multi-million dollar houses.